Out of the Country- An adventure to Canada

Last week I had the chance to go on an adventure during my Fall Break to what other place than Canada! Thanks to the GNOME travel committee, I traveled from Ithaca, NY to what seemed like another realm. While at Quebec, I finally met up with the GNOME team. From graphic designers to the names I've come to really on for my IRC questions, I met so many people from all over the world.

The Summit was truly inspirational for me. It was a chance not only to meet the people I had admired over the interwebs, but also to become involved in the GNOME community. After the trip I wanted to work so much harder on my project (although, balancing the keyboard project with my school work has proved to be difficult) because I saw and heard people who were truly committed to GNOME.
For more on what we discussed at the Summit, check out http://live.gnome.org/Montreal2011/

I also took some detailed notes on the trip itself for those who'd like to know what the expenses are like.

BEFORE THE TRIP-
-$250 for bus round trip (14 hours each way, gross)
-$280 for 3 night hotel stay

DAY ONE-
+$100 CAD withdrawal
-$3 one way ticket
-$16 three day ticket (this was way more economical & practical, since we were taking the metro a lot)
-$10 Mediterranean food
-$17 Pasta dinner

DAY TWO-
+$100 CAD withdrawal (-$1.50 fees apply)
-$22 for gifts (great gift shop a few blocks away from hotel)
-$15 salad lunch
-$0 for dinner and drinks thanks to Collabora!

DAY THREE-
-$22 for goodies for myself :)
-$15 for pierogi lunch
-$0 for flam snack (delicious) thanks to Karen!
-$0 for Iranian dinner thanks to Behdad!
-$20 for bus food

Total spent before trip- $530 and Total spent during trip- $141.50

So, please don't fret if the "before trip" expenses seem like too much. GNOME travel committee is fantastic, and very willing to help those who need it to come to these events. Along with their informational value, events like GNOME Desktop summit and the Montreal/Boston summit are great opportunities to network and build a stronger, tighter community :)